"Found you!"
As the massive stone barrier crumbled apart, Uzumaki Naruto charged into the cavern first.
There, suspended in midair, was Gaara. The chakra of the One-Tailed Shukaku was continuously being extracted from his body, pulled away bit by bit.
The sheer destruction caused by Naruto's Wind Release: Rasenshuriken naturally drew the attention of Pain and the others.
"Hahaha, looks like you failed to stop him," Tobi laughed, slipping back into his silly "Ah-Fei" persona.
"Tch. I told you I should've gone instead… hm." Deidara shot Tobi a venomous glare. He hadn't expected much from him to begin with, but the fact that he couldn't even stall their enemy for a moment left him seething.
"Don't blame me," Tobi protested, shrugging it off. "That guy's just too strong. And don't forget—I can only fight at a third of my true power. Failing to buy time is only natural, right?"
Even as he deflected the blame, deep down Tobi was shaken.
Naruto… he was still just a genin, yet he had already surpassed the speed of Namikaze Minato. And more terrifying still—he could wield the Nine-Tails' chakra with ease. At this point, he might already be the strongest Jinchūriki of them all.
"Give Gaara back to us!"
Naruto roared. The golden arms of the Nine-Tails' chakra erupted from his back, reaching toward Gaara, intent on tearing him free from the Akatsuki's sealing technique.
Caught off guard, Deidara was forced into action. With one arm he seized Gaara, while with the other he hurled several clay bombs into the air.
"Drink up!"
The clay detonated instantly, the blast shattering Naruto's chakra arms and forcing him back.
"Deidara, move Gaara to safety first."
Pain's tone was calm, but decisive. He had no choice but to alter his plan. After days of effort, they had already sealed most of Shukaku's chakra. Only a small fragment remained within Gaara. But under the current circumstances, there was no way to continue.
"What a reckless ninja," Kisame sneered, though he didn't take Naruto seriously.
"In that case, Itachi-san and I will go after the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki next. We can finish sealing the One-Tail later, together."
"Agreed." Pain nodded without hesitation.
In truth, only Deidara and Sasori's true bodies were present at this hideout. The others were merely projections.
"Sasori, the Nine-Tails is yours."
Before vanishing, Pain entrusted the task to Sasori of the Red Sand.
"The Nine-Tails…"
Sasori turned his gaze toward Naruto, signaling for Deidara to hurry and escape with Gaara.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Sasori-danna… hm."
Deidara wasted no time. Reaching into his pouch, he fed more clay into his mouth-hands, molding it into the shape of a massive clay bird. It spread its wings wide, both a means of flight and an explosive weapon if needed.
"Guess I'll be going on ahead, hm."
Leaping atop the bird, he used its tail to wrap securely around Gaara, then beat its wings to ascend into the air.
"I told you—give Gaara back to me!"
Naruto wasn't about to let him escape. With a single bound, he soared upward, matching the bird's height in an instant.
"So fast… hm."
Deidara's eyes widened. "This brat… is he really just a genin?"
Naruto reached forward, ready to seize Gaara—only to find his body suddenly bound. His arms froze midair, restrained by an unseen force.
"What the—?"
Although his reflexes were sharp, and he quickly formed new chakra arms from his back, Deidara had already taken advantage of the moment. He blew open a hole in the cavern's ceiling with a clay bomb and let the bird carry him skyward, escaping through the gap.
"If not for Sasori-danna's chakra threads, the Nine-Tails brat really might've snatched Gaara back, hm…" Deidara muttered as he glanced behind him, before disappearing into the distance.
Naruto landed back on the ground, his limbs still tugged by invisible strings.
"Wind Release: Great Sickle Weasel!"
A sudden gale burst from behind, countless wind blades slicing through the air and severing the chakra threads binding Naruto.
Moments later, Temari and Yamato dropped to his side.
Konan and Tobi had used their clones solely to delay Naruto's team. But now that the stone barrier had been destroyed, there was no longer any need to engage further. Konan had already withdrawn, avoiding further entanglement.
"Zabuza and Haku went after Gaara," Yamato explained quickly upon reaching Naruto. "Don't worry—he's not alone."
Originally, Temari had intended to pursue Deidara with them, but Zabuza had insisted otherwise. Against a rogue of the Sand, Temari's knowledge and intelligence would be far more valuable here than her combat power in pursuit.
"You must be Sasori of the Red Sand."
Temari's voice was cold, steady.
Before leaving Konoha, Senju Haruto had already briefed them on Akatsuki's members. During Gaara's rescue, they were most likely to encounter the rogue ninja of Earth Country, Deidara, and the traitor of the Sand itself—Sasori.
Thanks to that intelligence, Temari was able to recognize her opponent with certainty.
Though she wasn't a puppet master herself, her younger brother Kankurō had taught her enough about the art. She knew one key weakness: destroy the puppets, and the master's combat ability dwindled significantly.
"I get it now," Naruto said grimly. He understood why his body had suddenly been restrained. If he kept that in mind, there was nothing to fear from a puppet master.
With a flash, he vanished—Body Flicker Technique. In an instant, he reappeared atop Sasori's puppet, Hiruko, chakra swirling in his palm. The Rasengan flared to life.
Sasori didn't panic. He immediately directed Hiruko's segmented tail to stab straight at Naruto's body. As the most gifted puppet master the Sand had ever produced, Sasori's creations were infused with deadly poison. Even a graze would paralyze his enemies.
And Hiruko's defenses were exceptional. Against any ordinary shinobi, it could easily withstand a Rasengan.
"This battle… is already over," Sasori declared in his deep, confident voice.
But the next moment shattered that confidence entirely.
Before his eyes, Naruto's chakra cloak shifted and took shape, forming two massive arms of its own. They clamped down on Hiruko's tail, halting its strike completely.
"Wha—?!"
Naruto's real palm then slammed down on Hiruko's back. The Rasengan exploded against its armor, the destructive force ripping cracks across its shell.
The fractures spread like spiderwebs, multiplying in an instant.
BOOM!
With a single strike, Hiruko was obliterated, reduced to fragments beneath Naruto's assault.
"This… this can't be…"
Hidden within smoke and debris, Sasori's true body was sent skidding backward, eyes wide with disbelief.
This boy…
Was he really just a genin of Konoha?